Playing without suspended guard Ravern Johnson and with guards Dee Bost and Riley Benock’s playing status questionable before tipoff, Mississippi State beat Arkansas 67-56 Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs (13-10, 5-4 SEC) were led in scoring by Bost’s 18 points. Bost was suffering from a strained achilles tendon but still played 36 minutes. Head coach Rick Stansbury did not think Benock was going to play because of a bruised shoulder, but the senior told him moments after tipoff he would give it a shot.
After the game, Stansbury called the win over Arkansas (14-9, 4-6) “gutsy” and praised the unselfishness of his players.
“Nothing mattered out there tonight but winning … Kodi [Augustus] had about three different plays he could’ve shot the ball, but he made the extra pass,” Stansbury said. “Those are the kinds of things you like to see from your team. No one is worried about no individual stats; all they cared about was winning the basketball game. I like that.”
MSU scored 21 bench points, with junior Brian Bryant and sophomore Wendell Lewis scoring eight apiece. Benock had four points off the bench, all of which came on free throws. The bench production is a far cry from the victory over Florida that saw only four Bulldogs score.
“Everybody stepped up, we need that every game,” Bost said. “Brian came in and gave us points and leadership. Shaun [Smith] knocked down shots. We need that every game for everybody.”
The last field goal for the Bulldogs came on a 3 from Bryant at the 9:39 mark, but thanks to the team going 16-18 from the free throw line, MSU were still able to hold on for a 67-56 victory.
The 56 points allowed were a season low in SEC play for the Bulldogs, and only one Razorback reached double digits in the scoring column. Perhaps more importantly, Arkansas sharpshooter Rotnei Clarke was held to a quiet nine points. Stansbury was pleased with the job freshman Jalen Steele did guarding Clarke on the perimeter.
“I thought Jalen, for a young freshman, guarded Clarke about as good as you could guard him,” he said.
Steele, who finished the game with five points, noted the team’s unselfish play as the main reason for the victory.
“We were feeding the post, kicking the ball to the open corner and the wings,” Steele said. “Everything was clicking for us tonight … we just flat-out hustled.”
The Bulldogs will now turn their attention on the trip to Auburn on Saturday to face the 8-15 Tigers.
MSU beat Auburn handily on Jan. 16, 85-66. Last year when the Dawgs traveled to Auburn, they were upset 89-80 in the final game played in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum.
Steele said he is hoping to see the momentum from back-to-back SEC wins carry over into Saturday’s contest on the plains.
“We’re playing really good right now,” Steele said. “Defense is really stepping up for us. That’s all we really need to go get a road win at Auburn. If we play together and D up, hopefully we can come out with a win.”
After Wednesday’s win, Stansbury said he had not re-evaluated the suspension of Ravern Johnson, who is suspended indefinitely for criticizing Stansbury’s coaching on Twitter. He was also forced to miss one game due to a violation of the class attendance policy.
Bost and Benock both said they are expecting to suit up once again despite the injuries. Bost says he knows this team cannot take anything for granted Saturday.
“We can’t take that for granted, especially on the road,” Bost said. “We have to go in there and just fight and keep playing like we’ve been playing.”
Tipoff against Auburn is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on Fox Sports Net.